Online porn 'damaging men's health', claims NHS expert

Warning: Angela Gregory says one of the first questions she asks patients with erectile dysfunction is about pornography
Shutterstock / magarsamd
Francesca Gillett15 August 2016

Increasing numbers of young porn addicts are going to therapists because of problems with their erections, an expert has warned.

Top psychosexual therapist Angela Gregory said more and more men in their late teens and early 20s were now suffering from sexual health problems including erectile dysfunction.

The NHS clinician blamed the health issues on men becoming addicted to watching easy-access online porn - often on their smartphones and laptops.

"What I've seen over the last 16 years, particularly the last five years, is an increase in the amount of younger men being referred," she said.

Traditionally erectile dysfunction occurs in older men and is related to conditions such as diabetes, MS or cardiovascular disease.

She told the BBC: "These younger men do not have organic disease, they've already been tested by their GP and everything is fine.

"So one of the first assessment questions I'd always ask now is about pornography and masturbatory habit because that can be the cause of their issues about maintaining an erection with a partner."

The therapist advised anyone who thinks they might have a problem related to porn to contact their GP.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT